Triology

In the middle of Musica Viva's sober season came Triology, two violins and a cello dedicated to the art of entertainment. No profundities here: a night with Triology makes few demands on the listener and the results are pleasant enough.

Because of this ensemble's resources, most of its material is arranged or composed by the members. Cellist Tristan Schulze contributed seven original items to Saturday night's line-up, as well as four settings of music by Ennio Morricone, Pace de Lucia, the inescapable Astor Piazzolla, and Beethoven - Triology's solitary gesture to mainstream repertoire.

Violinist Aleksey Igudesman contributed four works of varying quality and Daisy Joplin put in her oar with Eye of Light, a simple but effective violin duo.

The most impressive aspect of Triology's work is the ensemble's timing; whether this involves irregular rhythms, a consistent but unusual time-signature (like the 10/8 underpinning Schulze's Sofia-Istanbul), or more obviously the split-second entries that their performance style requires, best seen through the interplay of the two violinists who set the night's pace with a riveting version of de Lucia's El Tempul.

The night's most engrossing exhibition of skill came in Schulze's treatment of the Phrygian mode as the ancient Greeks might have heard it, its transference through Alexander's invasion to Indian ragas, and its return to Europe, where it infiltrated flamenco.

While there was plenty to admire in the craft of these musicians and Musica Viva's efforts to give them a worthy context - lighting changes, stage dressing, lavish amplification - the night could have been shortened by three numbers without much loss.

Despite the promises of musical mayhem and eccentricity, the sequence of the program was followed and the communal banter came off only part of the time, not helped by Schulze's mumbling and the disparity between Triology's lightning-fast music and their often leaden verbal flurries.

Still, the audience enjoyed the experience, greeting each of Triology's 16 offerings with unwavering enthusiasm. You have to admire a musical ensemble that serves its audience free gazpacho during interval as a reward for coming out on a bitter Melbourne winter night.